File:Portrait of the American Merchant Samuel Hart (c. 1749-1810) (by Richard Livesay).jpg

English: Richard Livesay

Portrait of the American Merchant Samuel Hart (c. 1749-1810) (paired with the portrait of his brother Moses Hart (d. 1825))

signed R. Livesay and dated 1795 (lower left);

inscribed Samuel Hart 1795. (on the reverse)

oil on vellum

12 by 10 in.; 30.5 by 25.4 cm.

Samuel Hart and his brother Moses were raised in the small but vibrant Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island. The Revolutionary War brought many trials to the Hart family, all loyal to the British crown, who were forced to flee Newport after the evacuation of the British Army in 1777. The family first fled to Long Island then New York proper, where they found themselves destitute but supported by a small stipend from the British commander-in-chief of the city. When the Americans succeeded in capturing the city in 1783, both Hart brothers fled to London, where Moses would remain for the rest of his life.

Samuel, his wife and children found themselves in Halifax, Nova Scotia by 1785, where Samuel opened a general import-export business, mainly dry goods and commodities from London. His skills as a trader led to success and by 1793 his aspirations led him to run for public office. He became a member for Liverpool Township, a position he held until 1799, where he expected to become the first Jewish member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia. However, shortly after his election, Samuel was informed that he would have to subscribe to the Test Act, which would require his baptism into the Anglican faith in order for him to make the declaration against transubstantiation. He was baptized in 1793.

Records indicate that in the mid-1790s, Samuel and his son traveled to England so that the younger Hart could be left with his uncle Moses, who remained an observant Jew until his death in 1825. While on this trip, Samuel had his portrait painted to cultivate further his image as a respectable man of property.

The end of Samuel's life underscored the difficulties facing Jews who aspired to social acceptance in early British North America. By the early 1800s, debt began to overwhelm his business and his heirs inherited virtually nothing.